Advice on letting agent

[elainem]

Hi! I have had a letting agent manage two properties for the last four years. I had and still have, mostly, a good relationship with them.

I was living away from the properties, but when I got one of them back, which I hadn't seen for four years - 2 lots of tenants - the windows needed painting so badly that they nearly had to be replaced, there was two leaks in the house which caused some damage, and there was quite a bit of rubbish left by the tenants which I had to pay to dispose of when the tenants had gone - they had said they checked the place and it was all cleared out.

More recently, see previous post re tenants throwing hundreds of cigarette buts all over the garden and patio area of one of the properties along with the place being absolutely filthy.

I went to this house with the permission of the tenants to do the garden - it was such a state that I looked upstairs and took photos of the doors, stairs and landing.

Now, in this instance, the letting agent refused to contact the tenants and ask for an inspection a week or two later - saying that I could be liable to be pursued by the tenants via the PRTB because I had looked upstairs without their permission, when I was only there to get the gardener to do the garden - I could see their point to a degree.

However, now they are refusing to send out the final checklist until two weeks before the move out date. They have also never inspected the property since I showed them the photos of the state of the place - in fact they have done nothing to earn their fee at all! What are letting agents exactly supposed to do? There was a leak in this property over a weekend, when part of the ceiling fell down - (tenants had never told letting agent about the leak), and the tenants rang them to say they could not use the one shower anymore due to the lead - this happened over the weekend, and the letting agent said they couldn't even get an emergency plumber out to deal with it.

I had a third property let through these agents, and I called to see if there had been any old post there for me - the tenants told me that the letting agent had not been to inspect the property in over a year - the property was actually in pristine condition, so much so that I wondered whether the tenants actually lived there full-time.

So. what should I expect from a letting agent - why don't they see it as their role to inspect a property which the tenants were clearly not maintaining - are they not supposed to take these situations in hand - I'm paying them e150 per month for this particular property.

Finally, is it better to let the property yourself, or should you let it with an agent and manage yourself. I live close to the properties now. I also know about registering with the PRTB etc.

Would love some advice/comment on this issue as I think I'm being taken for a bit o a mug with these agents.

 

[Dirac]

Hi
Did you sign an agreement with the agent? Normally there are as you probably know, different levels of service such as Let Only, Letting & Rent Collection or Full Management?
Presumably if you signed for a service that included periodic inspections, and the agent hasn't carried these out, and you have proof of this you's be a in a position to request a return of management fees as the service wasn't correctly carried out.
To the extent of liability of the agent in terms of damage to the property etc, apart from fair wear and tear any other damage would need several quotations to make good and then the sum retaining from the deposit on vacation of the property.
In the event the cost of making good exceeds the deposit held, you would have to consider the likelihood of success in making a court claim.

 

[Bronte]

Your post shows why letting agents are useless, you are always better off doing it yourself.

Re the shower leak over the weekend and damage done, even if you'd be managing it yourself the damage might still have happened. It's part of being a landlords life that issues will arise that are beyond our control.

 

[elainem]

Letting agent

Hi! Bronte, totally agree about letting agent's being useless - had now even more hassle with them. Quite scared of doing it myself, but will give it a try this time.

 

[elcato]

Seeing as you saw the handover from your last tenants, it appears to me that the agreement you have is purely for collection of rent and general contact between the tenant. I have an agent and it's their job to make sure in between lets that they inspect and return (or not) deposits. They also deal with all repairs. Without knowing exactly what the agreement was it's hard to say who is right. Be aware also that if the tenants don't report a problem then they have no way of knowing there are internal problems either.

 

[elainem]

Advice on letting agents

Thanks for you reply Elcato. I actually did have a full management agreement with my letting agent, however, I found that when there was actually problems with the tenants, they just didn't want to know, and were saying if the tenants damaged anything just let it go, as the PRTB would side with the tenants. When I entered the house with the gardener, with the tenant's permission, and I saw the house was a state - (even the plasterer who fixed the ceiling though the house was filthy, particularly the bathroom) - the letting agent refused to approach the tenants, saying that because I had gone upstairs when I had seen the state of the property (my son, age 10, wanted to use the loo upstairs - only one loo - but wouldn't use it when he saw the state of it) - on my visit there with the gardener - the letting agent said the PRTB would go to town on me, and absolutely refused to say anything to the tenants despite the photo evidence of what the place was like. I find it strange that the PRTB would hassle any landlord who came into a house to inspect the kitchen/garden etc but then went upstairs to have a look when he saw the downstairs in utter disarray. I suppose I am also really annoyed with the letting agent as they tried to minimise everything e.g. the carpet where the stains wouldn't come out after cleaning, the paint stains on the wooden floors, table and shed, after the tenants tried to do a botch job of painting over the stain on the ceiling with undercoat, the rubbish left which cost e50 to have removed etc. In the end, I wondered if the letting agent thought the tenant was paying the e150 per month management fee rather than me. I am really worried about managing to let property on my own, but am going to try it after this experience.